This section covers the early years of the Cold War, from 1944 to the death of Stalin in 1953. We will be exploring the origins of the Cold War, and asking how far Soviet and Western policy decisions were to blame. How expansionist were Stalin's aims in Europe after 1945? What was the impact of the Marshall Plan and Western policies of 'containment'? Why did Stalin impose such rigid Soviet control on East European socialist movements? And why did he clamp down on the Soviet Union after 1945? You will find some answers to these questions in this section, which contains extracts from my books, photographs and videos, and a further reading list. Register
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